Kitty Cash Pulls a Beyoncé and Drops a Visual Mixtape

Downtown DJ Kitty Cash has taken a cue from Beyoncé and dropped a visual mixtape today exclusively on Vogue.com. After releasing her album Love the Free Vol. II in July, Cash felt the project was lacking a visual component. She eventually tracked down a group of emerging filmmakers through friends of friends, but unlike the notoriously detail-loving Bey, Cash ceded all creative control of the visual album to the aspiring directors. She had only one rule: The filmmakers could have no contact with the musicians whose songs they were going to interpret. “When you leave the artist out of the creative process, the story is totally different,” explains the Brooklyn native.

The experiment produced nine videos that bring to life the songs of artists like SZA and Kali Uchis. Cash even makes an appearance in one video directed by Sandra Winther titled “Love the Free.” But it is the untitled concept film by Mike and Claire that has the most potential to make a dent online. Their surreal fashion film for “Evangelion” by Dream Koala shows off a fantasy world filled with flying black-and-white silhouettes, boys dancing in drag, and bodies painting themselves in multiple-colors to the beat. “Mike and Claire’s film explores forbidden worlds, and I think it is a masterpiece,” says Cash.

The DJ hopes her visual mixtape not only breathes new life into the second iteration of Love The Free, but also leaves a lasting impression on the collaborators involved with the project. “Maybe this experience will allow the musicians and filmmakers to gain a new perspective and be a little more fearless,” says Cash.